Higher Education
Higher education -- formal learning beyond high school -- is crucial for both a country's and person's development. However, the higher education system in any country is far from perfect, but there are many ways in which to improve. Here are some questions that need answers: * What is the role of private higher education? * What is the role of public higher education? * What is the role of religiously sponsored higher education? * How do you protect academia's freedom? * How do we control tuition and other higher education related expenses? Alternative Funding for Students At Pete Ashdown's campaign wiki, there is a discussion about how programs like Americorps could help students earn money to fund their own education. During this discussion I contributed this idea: :"What about offering college scholarship money for service done concurrently with course work? Universities and colleges could develop service learning intensive degree options. For instance, English majors could tutor/mentor elementary and secondary students in language arts. Math/Engineering/Science/Technology majors could tutor/mentor as well. Business/Economics majors could consult and help run small businesses started by low income people. Pre-Medical/Nursing majors could volunteer at hospitals and other health care facilities. Foreign Language majors could use their language skills to teach immigrants English. Performing Arts majors could help run community arts programs. Journalism majors could do stories about non-profit organizations and the voiceless. Catch my drift? BYU (the Center for Service and Learning there) would be a good source for learning more about service learning (done both domestically and abroad). This way people do not have to completely forgo school for two years to earn scholarship money. It wouldn't be that bad if it added a semester or two to their degrees. --Anhhung18901 23:10, 7 December 2005 (MST)" Is this feasible?--Anhhung18901 03:48, 7 July 2006 (UTC) Supporting the Creative Class in Higher Education George Mason University Public Policy professor Richard Florida has done extensive research into the creative class http://www.creativeclass.org/. Some members of this creative class are foreign students and residents who come to a country to study and work. This is especially helpful to economies with aging populations where few people are entering hi-tech, engineering, science, and other fields that spur a country's innovation. However, since the catastrophic terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001 in the United States, some countries have clamped down on granting student visas. Now fewer foreigners can enter countries like the United States because of national security concerns. How can we adhere to important national security standards while streamlining the visa process so that foreigners can more easily enter a country to work and study to help buoy the innovation and economic competitiveness of the host country?--Anhhung18901 04:03, 7 July 2006 (UTC) The BBC recently exposed a visa scam in the United Kingdom http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm when colleges created false documentation to allow foreigners to enter the country on student visas. Many of these students didn't even study or attend courses at these colleges. Are institutions of higher education always the best at determining if a foreigner has the right to enter a country for study? At what point should governments regulate their foreign student admissions to prevent scams?--Anhhung18901 04:09, 7 July 2006 (UTC) Online Higher Education What is going to be the effect of the Internet on Higher Education? :The Internet is having profound effects upon higher education. It has enabled the academic knowledge base to be more accessible and easy to search as information and communication technologies have progessed. However, while it has a lot of benefit, it can also endanger the system. For instance, instead of students digging through real publications in libraries for information they tend to merely google what they want. This not only leads them to less vetted and peer reviewed data, it robs them of valuable research skills that are still needed in this digital age.--Anhhung18901 23:50, 16 July 2006 (UTC) Category:Education